A Model Problem

There are many obstacles in action sports that females face in building a better world. Here is one that continues to thrive. From trade show booths, company advertisements and even product guides, almost all action sports companies use models for the photos, models who do not ride. This Back To School Guide from Foam Magazine is just one example.

There are two problems with this. First, many companies claim to have no budget to pay female riders and female riders need to get paid. They have a budget to pay models to dress up like skaters and snowboarders for their catalog. It is about time the companies start supporting the riders, not models. This leads into the next issue…

Some companies believe that there are just not female riders out there and if there are, they have not been able to reach them. However with every ad printed they are just reinforcing this belief and showing how out of touch they are with us females that are out riding everyday.

This Zumiez ad for instance. Zumiez sells skateboard and snowboard products, right? So why is a store that tries to sell action sports apparel to females, using a model to reach female action sports athletes? To make matters worse, a baseball glove? Ok CCS, dump Heath Kirchart from your catalog. Go get a hot male model, grease him up, put a bow and arrow in his hands and you will definitely reach those guys that ride!